My Wild Island Child
by Otter Seastar
Summary: Poemfics to, by, and about Caliban and/or Sycorax.
1. Rime of the Forgotten Mariner

Cali and Sycorax own my soul at the moment, but I do not own them or any other Shakespeare character.

I'm playing a sailor in a school performance of _The Tempest_, so this first poem is what I (wishfully) imagine for my character's future.

Rime of the Forgotten Mariner

When I left Naples, dressed up as a boy  
To seek a sailor's fortune on the sea  
I never dreamed of_ this  
_When I traversed the main upon my ship  
And gazed on splendid sights in teeming ports  
I never dreamed of _this  
_When lightning struck the ship, as storm-winds raged  
And I was tossed into the roiling waves  
I wished I'd never sailed  
O blessed storm!  
I washed up on a lonely island shore  
And wandered there, and never saw a soul  
But only plants and beasts of many kinds  
A lovely land unmarred by human touch  
For many days I roamed, and then I found  
A figure sitting sadly by the sea  
A fishlike man, with demon in his eyes  
I asked his name. He answered: Caliban  
O Caliban!  
Sired by a mighty spirit of the sea  
Upon a sorceress of strength and skill  
Child of the isle, he knew it every inch  
Until a tyrant came, to whom he was  
Enslaved and mocked, by liquor broken-souled  
Spurned by his master's daughter, whom he'd loved  
Until his master left for better things  
Abandoned him to live alone but free  
His story sparked a fire in my soul  
I vowed to be his friend forevermore  
My Caliban!  
He showed me all the isle, and in return  
I told him tales of places I had seen  
We both rejoiced in knowledge gained, and danced  
From mountaintop, to valley lush, to lake  
I healed his wild heart, and in return  
He made of me a woman once again  
Our brood runs free as spirits o'er the isle  
Each pretty child a picture of my dear  
I think but rarely of my natal home  
And hope my life will pass in glory here  
In savoring the land's wild living jewels  
Beside my Caliban


	2. Questioning Caliban

The 'questioner' here is me, the one reading and watching the play.

Questioning Caliban  
Who are you, Caliban?  
Young or old? Beast or man?  
How differ you from the human race?  
They ne'er described your form and face  
You know your island, every bit  
Get sustenance and joy from it  
You've a poet's tongue, a naturalist's eyes  
A heart that wonders, dreams and cries  
And yet you plotted, shameless churl  
To kill a man and rape a girl  
These actions taint your soul's sweet song  
Did no one teach you right from wrong?  
Perhaps not. I don't know. The truth  
Lies hidden with your untold youth  
We never saw you as a child  
Discovering your island wild  
Its gifts to use, its threats to tame  
All things you knew but could not name  
And Sycorax your mother, who  
They spoke of but a time or two  
What guiding care did she provide?  
How old were you when she died?  
Who was she beyond her "foul" power?  
What sired you, some secret hour  
On Algiers' enigmatic coast?  
What strange ancestry can you boast?  
All unknowns. When we saw you first  
You were a servant, hated, cursed  
You cringed before your master's might  
Behind his back, nursed bitter spite  
Then, liquor shattered will and mind  
I ached to see you there so blind  
Fawning o'er a common fool  
Who called you friend but thought you tool  
And after, when the script was through  
When Master no more needed you  
Were you abandoned on your isle  
Alone but free, to live awhile  
And die forgotten, mourned by none  
Consumed by creature, storm and sun  
Upon a nameless, lonely shore  
Yet played on stage forevermore?

Who are you, Caliban?  
Stupid, wicked, ugly knave?  
Archetype of native slave?  
Island-child, strong and wild?  
Primitive by drink beguiled?  
Symbol of the living world?  
Keen mind in earthy humor curled?  
Half-human creature of the sea?  
All this, and more, you seem to be  
Interpreted a different way  
By everyone who knows your play  
A mystery the centuries span  
Would I could know you, Caliban


End file.
